A sala é grande e eu gosto de estar nela.

The room is big, and I like to be in it.

Breakdown of A sala é grande e eu gosto de estar nela.

• eu: I
• ser: to be
• gostar de: to like
• estar: to be
• e: and
• a sala: the room
• grande: big
• nela: it

Questions & Answers about A sala é grande e eu gosto de estar nela.

Why is it “A sala” and not just “Sala” at the start of the sentence?

In Portuguese you normally use the definite article (o, a, os, as) with specific nouns much more than in English.

• A sala é grande = The room is big, not “Room is big”.
• Dropping the article (Sala é grande) sounds unnatural or telegraphic, like a headline.

So whenever you mean “the room” (a specific one both speakers know), you typically say a sala in Portuguese European standard.

Why is it “é grande” and not “está grande”?

With adjectives describing inherent, permanent, or typical qualities, Portuguese uses ser:

• A sala é grande. – The room is (in general) big / large.

You use estar for temporary or changing states:

• A sala está cheia. – The room is (currently) full.
• A sala está fria. – The room is (now) cold.

Room size is seen as a stable characteristic, so é grande is preferred, especially in European Portuguese.

Why do we say “gosto de” and not just “gosto estar nela”?

In Portuguese, gostar almost always takes de before a noun or an infinitive:

• Eu gosto de chocolate. – I like chocolate.
• Eu gosto de ler. – I like to read.
• Eu gosto de estar nela. – I like being in it.

Without de, it is incorrect:

• ✗ eu gosto estar nela (wrong)
• ✓ eu gosto de estar nela (correct)

Think of gostar de as one unit: to like (something / doing something).

Why use the infinitive “estar” instead of a gerund like English “being”?

Portuguese normally uses the infinitive after gostar de:

• gosto de estar – I like being / to be
• gosto de correr – I like running / to run

English often uses a gerund (being, running), but Portuguese uses the infinitive in these “I like doing X” structures. So “gosto de estar nela” naturally covers both “I like being in it” and “I like to be in it”.

What exactly is “nela”? How is it formed?

Nela = em + ela (in / on + she/it [feminine]).

• em (in, on, at) + ela (she / it – feminine) → nela

This is a standard contraction in Portuguese:

• em + ele → nele
• em + eles → neles
• em + elas → nelas

So estar nela literally means “to be in her/it”, referring to a feminine noun such as a sala.

Why do we use “nela” instead of just “ela”?

Ela by itself is a subject or object pronoun (she / her / it), not a prepositional phrase:

• Eu gosto dela. – I like her/it.

But the meaning here is “to be in the room”, so you need “in it”, not just “it”. That’s why you must include the preposition em:

• estar em + ela → estar nela – to be in it (feminine).

So:

• ✗ gosto de estar ela (wrong – missing the idea “in”)
• ✓ gosto de estar nela (correct – “I like being in it”).

Why do we say “nela” and not something like “na sala” again?

Both are grammatically correct but slightly different in style:

• A sala é grande e eu gosto de estar nela.
  – The room is big and I like being in it. (Avoids repetition, uses a pronoun.)

• A sala é grande e eu gosto de estar na sala.
  – The room is big and I like being in the room. (Repeats the noun.)

Using nela sounds more natural and less repetitive, just like English prefers “in it” instead of repeating “in the room” immediately.

Why is it “nela” and not “nele”?

The choice depends on the grammatical gender of the noun you’re referring to.

• a sala is feminine → pronoun must be feminine:

  • em + ela → nela

• For a masculine noun like o quarto (the bedroom/room), you’d say:

  • O quarto é grande e eu gosto de estar nele.
    – The bedroom is big and I like being in it.

So:

• Feminine reference: nela
• Masculine reference: nele

Could you say “gosto de estar lá” instead of “gosto de estar nela”?

You can say it, but it doesn’t mean exactly the same:

• gosto de estar nela – I like being in it (the room) → directly refers back to a sala.
• gosto de estar lá – I like being there → more general, points to a place, not grammatically tied to the noun a sala.

In context, lá would often be understood as “in that place we’re talking about”, but nela is more precise and cohesive, explicitly linking back to a sala.

Why is the subject “eu” written? Could we drop it?

Yes, you can drop eu:

• A sala é grande e gosto de estar nela.

Portuguese is a pro‑drop language: the verb form gosto already shows the subject is eu (1st person singular). Including eu adds a bit of emphasis:

• eu gosto – I like (as opposed to someone else).

Both forms are correct; omitting eu is very common in speech and writing.

Is this sentence specifically European Portuguese, or is it also okay in Brazilian Portuguese?

The sentence:

• A sala é grande e eu gosto de estar nela.

is perfectly correct in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. There’s nothing here that is region‑specific. Pronunciation will differ, but grammar and vocabulary are standard across both varieties.

Could we say “Eu gosto da sala” instead of “eu gosto de estar nela”? What’s the difference?

They’re both correct but express slightly different ideas:

• Eu gosto da sala.
  – I like the room (in general: its style, size, decoration, etc.).

• Eu gosto de estar nela.
  – I like being in the room (the experience of spending time there).

The original sentence emphasizes enjoying being in the room, not just liking the room as an object or concept.